Righting Percieved Injustices
by nebula2
Summary: The BAU is presented with a string of similar murders that begins with one of their own. Their quest for the killer takes them to Lima, Ohio where the lives of some McKinley High students are about to become forever changed.
1. First Kill

**_Disclaimer: CM and Glee are not mine, I'm simply borrowing the characters for entertainment purposes._**

**_AN: So, not that I need to start another story but I signed up for the May challenge on the Chit Chat On Author's Corner forum. My assigned character is Emily Prentiss, which means that sorry folks, Em will be dying as that is part of the challenge. I'm also planning on killing off other characters from both CM and Glee so you have been warned. Also, some characters may be OOC. This will be necessary to tell the story. Please bear with me. Thank-you._**

**_AN2: Any mods reading this, yes I know I killed off the wrong character in this chapter. My assigned character will be dying later in the story._**

* * *

_She had missed her co-workers during her leave of absence, so she had called one of them, hoping to get together. She had been told where they were getting together and had been asked to join them. After saying a stiff, quick good-bye to her live in boyfriend, she had headed for the bar her co-workers were at. Unfortunately, she had never joined them. Oh, she had gone to the bar, had even walked inside and spotted them but the sight that had greeted her had stopped her short._

_Instead of just the four she had expected, the group had consisted of five people. All five of them were laughing and carrying on. She had recognized the fifth person, after all she had been the one who was responsible for them all crossing paths. Though the cheerful brunette was a nice enough person, she didn't like the idea of her encroaching on her territory. _

_Still, she had been on her way over to the table, not wanting to go back to the quiet house where she and her boyfriend functioned in a tense silence. Had been ready to suck it up and deal with the unwanted intruder into her circle of friends when she had overheard something that had made her freeze in mid-step._

"_Glad you decided to come back to help us out. I know your last stint here was a bit rough on you."_

_She hadn't waited to hear the answer. She didn't want to hear the response. How dare she take her spot? She had only needed a little time to herself to clear her head? She was human. Didn't she deserve that?_

_But then she had never seemed to have gotten the breaks that others had gotten around her. It seemed like she always had to fight for recognition - at home, at school, in sports, and later at work. Her parents had favored her sister, even after her death. She had felt she was never good enough for her. In her classes all she had heard about was how great a student Analee had been. She had given up so much, a normal social life as well as dating, trying to be the valedictorian like Analee only to lose by a tenth of a point to Elizabeth Harper. And though she may have made captain of her high school team by senior year, she would never forget the sting of sitting out for a week due to a sprain ankle her sophomore year to find that captain Carole Leery had given her spot to Alexis Scott._

_Her career hadn't turned out much better. Perhaps she had set herself up for defeat by joining a field of mostly men, but it was where she had felt drawn. Besides, other women had made it in the field, why couldn't she? And she had made it or at least she thought she had but tonight had shown her otherwise. Tonight she knew the truth that her so-called friends had just been humoring her because she was the reliable one. The sweet, innocent face that could get them what they wanted._

_Well she would show them how innocent she was starting tonight. Tonight she was going to start the path to getting the recognition that she deserved. Tonight was the start of her journey toward avenging all the pasts wounds she had suffered at the hands of others._

_And it all started with the cheerful brunette who thought she would waltz in and fill her shoes. No one could fill her shoes and the brunette was about to find that out tonight._

_So she had left the bar unnoticed and made the drive to the brunette's house where she now waited, patiently letting the minutes tick by. Patience had always been a virtue of hers and it was serving her well tonight as she crouched behind the bushes of her target's two story, townhouse. _

_Hearing a car pull into the driveway, her fingers tightened on the grip of the gun in her hand. It was almost time. She listened closely as she watched through the branches of the bush as the brunette climbed from behind the wheel. The thud of the car door shutting echoed through the otherwise quiet night. She felt the weight of the gun in her hand, her method of righting all the injustices she had suffered. _

_Silently, she listened to the footsteps as the brunette made her way toward the house, her limited view also helping her determine the timing. When the unsuspecting woman made it to the right spot, she stepped purposefully out from behind the bush, the cold November wind blowing through her hair. The brunette stopped in surprise at the unexpected person blocking her way, the surprise fading when she recognized the newcomer._

_The first sounds of a greeting just beginning to past her lips as the trigger of the gun was pulled. Seconds later the brunette was sprawled out on the ground, blood seeping from the single gunshot wound to her forehead._

_Satisfied that in this case, justice had been served, the killer disappeared into the darkness. The gunshot would attract attention and she didn't want to be a part of the scene. Now that the quest had started, she knew there would be no going back. Justice would be handed out and perhaps then she could finally have peace. Her only regret was that she couldn't go home to say good-bye to her son._

* * *

Still feeling confused at the summons, Morgan pulled his SUV to a stop along the curb behind the familiar old Volvo of one Dr. Spencer Reid. Up ahead he could see quite a few uniformed people covering the lawn of a townhouse up ahead. His curiosity still causing him to ask questions, he made his way down the sidewalk toward the house. Approaching the end of the driveway, he spotted Hotch, Rossi and Reid standing in a small group. Joining them, Morgan noticed the familiar car in the driveway - the one that he had escorted Jordan Todd to only hours before.

"That's Jordan's car?" Morgan stated, waving toward the vehicle.

"Yes, it is," Hotch replied. "Reid said you were the one that walked her to her car at the bar. Did you notice anyone suspicious paying attention to the two of you? Did anyone leave the parking lot after her?"

"Not that I recall. Jordan was actually making fun of me for walking her out to the car. Said it was old fashioned. Why? What's going on?"

"Apparently someone was waiting at the house for her. They shot her as she approached the house," Rossi replied.

"Shot her? How bad?" Morgan asked as he felt Reid's light touch on his arm. Looking over at his friend, Morgan saw the tears sparkling in the genius' eyes.

"It was a clean shot to the forehead. She would have died instantly," Reid said quietly, his voice shaking with emotion.

Morgan looked back at the house, the words slowly sinking through his disbelief. Only hours ago Jordan had been laughing with Prentiss, Penelope, Reid and himself. How could she be dead?


	2. Assignment

_AN: So this chapter does more to establish the time frame within the Glee universe more than reveal more of the plot of this story. Though I based this chapter on events from the show I have tweaked the situation a bit so it isn't strictly cannon. Hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

The auditorium was empty when Kurt walked in through the back doors after spending an hour in the library studying history with Mercedes. Knowing that Finn was coming from football practice, the counter tenor figured his partner for the ballad assignment would be along shortly as they had agreed to meet in the auditorium following practice. From his short time on the team, Kurt knew the practices sometimes ran over.

Choosing the middle aisle, Kurt walked slowly toward the stage, absorbing the atmosphere of the empty auditorium. In his mind, he could hear the applause and cheers of future crowds, and in his dreams those sounds were for him. Even now though, he felt at home in the auditorium. There was nothing he enjoyed more than being up on that stage performing. It was where he felt he had the most confidence. It was the place that he felt most at ease, except for the solace of his own bedroom.

Reaching the stage, he climbed up the steps, placing his backpack on the floor. Turning he looked out over the empty room, enjoying the serenity of the place before turning and walking over to the piano. If he had to wait for Finn he figured he might as well make good use of his time and get some practice in. Without really making a conscious decision about what song to play, Kurt placed his fingers on the smooth white keys and played the opening strands of "Defying Gravity". Before long, he was lost in the music, his voice accompanying the piano notes to fill the auditorium with the music it had been built to amplify. Kurt was so lost in the music that he didn't notice Finn's arrival until the bari-tenor spoke.

"You learned how to hit that last note," Finn commented, talking about the high F at the end of the song that Kurt hadn't hit during the competition with Rachel.

"I've been able to hit that note," Kurt replied, turning around on the bench to face Finn.

"But during the sing-off. . ."

"I threw the sing-off," the smaller teen replied to the hanging question. "Some things are more important than a solo."

"I don't believe that not after all the fuss you made about having a chance to get the solo."

Kurt shrugged. "Fine. Think what you want to think," he said, trying not to show that he was hurt by the other teen's words. He refused to waste time arguing the point. "We should probably get to work on our assignment for Glee," he suggested attempting to change the subject.

"Yeah, about that, you know I was thinking seeing as the assignment is to sing a ballad to each other, and we don't actually have to perform it in front of the club, why don't we just say we did it."

"Because I have more integrity than that," Kurt replied in an annoyed tone.

"Look, usually I don't try to duck out of assignments," Finn insisted. "It's just that, well singing a song to another dude is weird."

"You heard Mr. Schue, a ballad is simply a song that tells a story. It doesn't have to be a love song. I could be about friendship or something. And all Mr. Schue said was that we had to sing a ballad to each other not necessarily about our partner. Pick a ballad that represents something important to you."

"Like what? Football?" Finn asked, skeptically. "Like I'm going to find a ballad about that."

Kurt didn't get to reply to his words as a third voice joined the conversation.

"Oh, come on Hudson. You know you want to sing a song to your boyfriend," Dave Karofsky called out as he and Azimio walked down the one aisle toward the stage.

"Yeah, 'For the Gory of Love' would be a good one for you," Azimio suggested.

The two jocks took a seat in the front row and looked up at the other two teens on the stage.

"Come on, dazzle us with your performance," Karofsky taunted.

Finn glanced from the two taunting jocks to Kurt, who despite trying to put on a brave front looked terrify. Though he didn't want to sing a song to Kurt, he also felt an obligation to make sure he was safe in this situation. At the beginning of the year, he wouldn't have cared. The titan quarterback probably would have made some joke about Kurt and left the smaller teen to fend for himself. That wasn't a choice now as Finn felt an obligation to look out for Kurt both because he was a member of Glee Club and because his mother had started dated Kurt's father.

"Let's go find someplace else to work on this assignment," Finn said, starting toward the side steps of the stage. He reached down and scooped up Kurt's bag as he passed by.

"Aww, look the lovebirds want to go be alone," Azimio crooned, as Kurt got to his feet to follow Finn.

"No," Finn said, his voice just below a shout as he turned to face Karofsky and Azimio. "We just want to get our homework done without the distraction of a couple of idiots," he told them, frustrated at having to defend himself to his teammates. He was the quarterback of the football team. That in itself should have made him cool. Though maybe if their football team didn't suck that might work a little better.

"Of course with your IQ's you probably don't even know what homework is," Kurt added, still standing near the piano bench.

"Tell your boyfriend to watch his mouth, Hudson," Karofsky said, getting to his feet.

"What? The truth hurts?" Finn asked, wondering why he was egging the two bullies on. If it came to a physical fight, he doubted Kurt would be any help to him and though he could probably hold his own with either Karofsky or Azimio, he doubted he'd do well against both of them at the same time.

Azimio stood up and both he and Karofsky headed for the stage.

"Is there a problem here fellas?"

All four teens turned toward the back of the auditorium to find Mr. Schuester standing in the door way.

"No, sir," Finn said, speaking up for all four of them as he let his gaze drift from his choir director to Karofsky and Azimio. "Kurt and I were just leaving," he added, walking down the steps toward the nearest exit. Footsteps behind him told him that Kurt was following his lead.

"Seriously? You want me to sing to a sonogram?" Finn asked, not even caring about the skepticism in his voice. Of all the crazy things he had heard, Kurt's latest idea had to be the craziest.

After leaving the auditorium they had retreated to the safety of Finn's home. At the very least the Titan quarterback knew that none of his teammates were going to waltz in on them unannounced.

"Why not?" Kurt insisted, from his place on the edge of the bed.

"Because it's a sonogram!" Finn exclaimed, waving his hands toward the computer which was right now showing his desktop. The Titan quarterback was starting to wonder why he had even brought up the sonogram with Kurt. It wasn't like they were close friends, though Finn didn't have anything personal against the guy. It was just that they hung in different circles, well at least until he had gotten blackmailed into joining Glee Club. Still, Finn knew he needed to talk to somebody and Kurt seemed the least likely to go spreading it around the school. "It's an inanimate object that can't hear anything being said by you, me or whoever else might walk into this room!"

"True," Kurt said slowly, as if the speed with which he was talking would make what he was saying easier for Finn to understand. "But it's the perfect situation for you to fulfill your assignment. You can pick a song that expresses your feelings toward your unborn daughter."

Finn looked at his classmate with skepticism. Singing to a sonogram seemed as weird to him as singing a ballad to a guy did.

"How are you feeling about the whole situation?" Kurt asked, not about to be deterred from his goal, which was to get Finn to complete the assignment. Despite the crush he had on Finn, he wasn't about to lie for his classmate.

Finn looked at Kurt silently for a few moments. The patient look on Kurt's face as he waited for an answer to his question told Finn that Kurt wasn't going to give up on this idea easily. Deciding it would be easier to give in than to continue to fight the counter tenor on the subject, Finn answered the question.

"Well, guilty actually. I mean Quinn wants to give the baby up for adoption, which I guess I sort of understand given our age, but that means that essentially I'm abandoning my daughter. She'll grow up without know me or without me knowing her. I don't really want that. I want her to know who I am. To know that I'll always be there for her."

"Okay," Kurt said thoughtfully, thinking about Finn's words and his taste in music as he went through lyrics to songs that he knew. It didn't take long for him to come up with one. "You can sing "I'll Stand By You" by the Pretenders. It's perfect for the situation!"

Finn thought about it for a moment even though Kurt was already finding the song on the mp3 player he had brought with him.

"Are you ready?" Kurt asked, not waiting for Finn's agreement.

More than willing to go along with for the ride at this point, Finn nodded. Moments later the opening notes of the song was filling the room. Looking toward the sonogram, Finn came in at the appropriate point with the words. It wasn't until he was finished with the song that he realized that Kurt wasn't the only audience that he had.

"Is there a reason you are singing to a sonogram?" Carole Hudson asked her son from the doorway of the room.

Startled, Finn looked toward his mother with a deer in the headlights look. "It's a Glee assignment," he offered, knowing that the answer wasn't going to satisfy his mother.

"I need more than that," Carole insisted knowing that no teacher was going to make a sing to a sonogram assignment.

"Well, we had to sing a ballad, and well Kurt suggested that it might be a good way for me to work out my feelings as I sort of found out that Quinn's pregnant," Finn replied, looking down at the floor as he fought back tears.

"Kurt, I think this would be a good time for you to go home," Carole said, looking at the other teen. "Finn and I have some things to discuss."

"Yes, ma'am," Kurt said, quickly gathering his things and heading out of the room. Finishing the assignment was apparently going to have to wait.


	3. Puzzle Pieces

_AN: Okay so as I had to take the time to figure out a time line for the chapters for myself, I would thought I'd share my timing with you. Chapter 1 is on a Friday night. Chapter 2 takes place the following Monday afternoon. This chapter and chapter 4 will both take place on Wednesday. Hope that helps any questions about timing._

* * *

Hotch leaned forward, and with elbows resting on his desk, massaged his temples. Though this job did often lead to stressful situations, the information in the two files currently spread across his desk had the potential to be one of the most stressful situations he had faced. The Boston Reaper was the only possible situation that had been more stressful if these cases were related to the one he suspected it to be. Reid being abducted by Tobias Hankle would also be a close one. The one thing that all three of these cases had the potential to have in common was the fact that they all held a level of personal involvement.

After several minutes, and no relief to his pounding headache, Hotch leaned back in the chair. The files and the facts they contained were not just going to go away. The connections his trained mind had made to those facts and recent events would continue to nag at him until he acted upon them. At least Hotch was pretty sure it was his training that was making those conditions and not the stress of the past four days.

The early morning call about Agent's Todd's death was the start of the nightmare. He had stayed on the scene most of the morning while local law enforcement and bureau agents had processed the scene. Though SSA Gibson had been put in charge of the investigation, he had kept Hotch in the loop with the information that was gathered, which unfortunately wasn't much. The only solid evidence they had from the scene was the single Glock 26 bullet that was taken Jordan Todd's brain. The fact that she hadn't suffered long was the only bright spot that Hotch could see in this whole mess.

The day hadn't gotten any better. After notifying Agent Todd's family about their daughter's death, something that never got easier, he had received a frantic phone call from Will that JJ had never come home from going out to meet with Morgan, Reid, Todd and Prentiss. A few phone calls later and Hotch had determined that JJ had never met up with the other agents. In one day he had essentially lost two agents. It was a nightmare that would give anyone a headache.

Over the last couple of days the investigation into Todd's death had hit a stand still, and the team's unofficial search for JJ hadn't turned up anything. As Garcia had pointed out, JJ knew everything they would do to try to track her and if she didn't want to be found she would avoid them. The fact that she had turned off her cell phone and withdrew three quarters of the money out of her and Will's savings account the morning of Todd's death was a testament to that.

Picking up the files for the two separate consults that had been faxed to him with urgent pleas for help the night before, Hotch stood up. If he couldn't trust his own judgement, there was only one man he could trust.

Moments later he was walking into David Rossi's office after being waved in.

"What's up Aaron?" Rossi asked, looking up from the consult he had been working on.

"I need a second opinion," Hotch admitted, holding up the two files.

"Well, bring me up to speed and I can do just that," Rossi said, closing the file he was looking at.

Hotch shook his head, as he stepped forward and placed the two files on Rossi's desk. "I'd prefer if you take a look at the cases and give me your opinion before I say anything," Hotch told him.

"Okay," Rossi said, looking from the files and up to his friend. The veteran profiler didn't need his profiling skills to see the stress and exhaustion on his friend's face. He waved a hand toward one of the two chairs on the other side of his desk. "Have a seat while I look these over. You look like you need to take a break."

For once, Hotch didn't even bother putting up the pretense of arguing that point. All he wanted to do was wake up and have everything back to how it was last week. As Rossi turned his attention to the files, Hotch sank down into the chair furthest from the office door. Leaning against the back, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of everything. It didn't work. Though he was able to banish the case information, the eulogy, he had prepared for Agent Todd's funeral that was taking place in a few hours kept playing through his mind.

He had spent hours the night before agonizing over the words and wishing that Jordan's mother hadn't asked him to deliver the eulogy. He and Jordan Todd hadn't seen eye to eye on a lot of things, and quite frankly, though a capable agent, he didn't think she had any right being in the BAU. Her tendency to bend the truth to gain results didn't sit well with him, as he had been taught to value honesty above all else.

Those were things that you put into a work evaluation though and not a eulogy. So he had sat in his living room long after putting Jack to bed, trying to figure out what to say in Jordan Todd's memories. These were words that her parents would cling to, in order to find peace in the death of their daughter and yet he needed them to be true for his own peace of mind. It had taken awhile, but he was finally satisfied that he had come up with an adequate memorial for the agent who had served with him for only two brief stints.

"These came to you as two separate consults?" Rossi asked, causing Hotch to open his eyes again.

"Yeah. The Baltimore police are reaching out for help after two days of turning up no evidence to work with. The Glenshaw sheriff sound absolutely panicked when I talked to him last night, having no idea how to proceed with a case like this."

"I would imagine they don't get many execution style murders out that way," Rossi mused out loud.

"They don't get many murders period," Hotch amended.

"I definitely see a connection between the two murders. Both were conducted at night with no witnesses, quite a feat to pull off in a city like Baltimore. The victims were both highly successful women in their own fields, brunettes and both killed by a single shot to the forehead with a Glock 26. Quite a few similarities to be just mere coincidences," Rossi said, echoing the thoughts that had gone through Hotch's mind when reading the files.

"Two kills in two days doesn't leave much of a cooling off period either," Rossi mused.

"Possibly three kills in four days," Hotch replied, waiting to see if Rossi would make the same connection that he had.

Rossi looked up from the files and gazed across the desk at his boss' blank expression. Moments later it clicked for him to.

"Jordan's murder," Rossi said sadly. "She fits in with these victims as well as the cause of death."

Hotch nodded, feeling more confident with the conclusions he had drawn now that he knew Rossi was in agreement with him.

"So, I guess technically we should turn these two files over to Gibson and let him look into it."

Hotch nodded. That was what the bureau would expect him to do. It wasn't however what he wanted to do. "Or officially we stay quiet about the connection of these two murders with Todd's and take on these two murders ourselves. Quite frankly, I want to be doing more to find Todd's killer than just watching what other agents are doing, and this looks to be the only break we might get."

"If Strauss finds out, she's going to be livid."

"I know," Hotch said. "Still, if it lets us find Todd's killer and whoever killed those other two women, then I'm willing to face whatever Strauss wants to throw my way."

"Should I get the team together now?" Rossi asked, telling Hotch that he was one hundred percent behind him on the decision.

Hotch shook his head. "We'll brief them following the funeral. I don't want to take that from them at this point. I think we're all going to need it for some sense of closure in the days to come."

Rossi nodded. Despite the fact that if this was the same killer they probably wouldn't have long before the next murder, he agreed with Aaron's assessment of taking care of themselves first. Keeping the team from the funeral at this point would do nothing to help concentration. First they would mourn the loss of a colleague and then set about to find her killer.

* * *

Four hours later, Agent Hotchner and his team were gathered back in the conference room in the BAU despite having officially been given the afternoon off. The team didn't question Hotch's judgement when he told them that there was a case that couldn't wait for them to start on it tomorrow.

Hotch stood in front of the screen waiting while the members of his team helped themselves to the Chinese takeout that he'd had Rossi and Prentiss pick up on their way back from the cemetery. Though he planned on starting the briefing while they ate, he did want everyone settled at the table first.

"Let's begin," Hotch finally said, after Morgan had settled down in a chair between Reid and Prentiss and Garcia had retreated to her lair. Hotch would give her the case information later, as he knew she wouldn't be able to eat while hearing about the murders like the rest of them could.

"Last night I received to faxes for urgent requests for help from the BAU," Hotch told the team. "The first was from the Baltimore police. Monday morning, Alexis Scott was found shot to death by her car, which was still in the parking lot of the church she attended. From talking with her friends from church, police have ascertained that Alexis had gone out to dinner with two other friends following the evening service. The group had car pooled, Alexis and one other person leaving their cars at the church. The friend driving dropped Alexis off at the church at about ten of ten on Sunday night. The second friend said that she had left before Alexis who was getting into her car when the friend pulled out of the parking lot."

"Police didn't find any signs of a struggle?" Morgan questioned.

"No. Alexis' purse was in the van and the van was unlocked, her body right outside the driver's side door," Hotch informed him. "Cause of death was a single shot to the forehead," he said, hitting a button on the remote he held to bring up the crime scene photos. "Police haven't been able to find any other leads or trace the gun that fired the bullet, which was from a Glock 26, prompting the request for help."

"The second victim is Elizabeth Harper from Glenshaw, PA. She was found at the bottom of her porch steps yesterday morning," Hotch continued bringing up the next photo. "Again, cause of death was a single shot to the forehead from a Glock 16. Glenshaw doesn't see many murders and Sheriff Rand and his small force is unsure of how to handle the investigation, hence while they asked for help so soon."

"Both women are brunette, in their mid-thirties, and successful in their careers," Rossi supplied.

"But this isn't serial yet. We only have two victims," Morgan pointed out.

"But they took place only twenty-four hours apart," Prentiss countered. "If it's the same killer, a third body won't be far behind."

"Point taken," Morgan conceded.

"It may already be serial," Reid commented, staring at the pictures on the screen in front of him. "Jordan fits the victimology of these windows and died the same way as them."

Hotch wasn't surprised that it was Reid that was the first to make the same connection that he and Rossi had.

"Exactly what Rossi and I were thinking. Of course, if Strauss gets wind that we think there is a connection to Todd's death with these two murders she'll take us off the case. Officially, we're investigating the link between these two murders. Unofficially, I believe we're looking for a serial killer whose spree started with Agent Todd for some reason," Hotch told his team glancing around at the table at all of them. The unit chief found a look of grim determination looking back at him from each of his agents.


	4. Unplanned Kill

Halfway through the late Wednesday Glee rehearsal that Mr. Schue had scheduled after football practice, Finn found himself focusing on two things other than the song they were supposed to be learning. The more obvious thing to him was the fact that Tina was singing lead with him instead of Rachel because Rachel wasn't at the rehearsal. No one knew where she was but then most of them didn't tend to have much to do with Rachel Berry outside of Glee. Frankly though, he'd rather be singing lead with his girlfriend, Quinn rather than Tina but who was he to question Mr. Schue.

The second thing that had Finn's attention was Kurt. Well more specifically, he was noticing the effort Kurt was putting into not paying attention to him. Finn had thought that maybe Kurt had been avoiding him yesterday, but as their paths really didn't cross much, the Titan quarterback hadn't been sure. When it had continued into today though, Finn was more convinced Kurt was avoiding them as they still had Kurt's half of the Glee assignment to finish. Giving Kurt's attitude about integrity and doing the assignment over saying they had done it, Finn found that strange. He had expected Kurt to be asking him when they were going to finish the assignment. Instead, the other teen hadn't said one word to him and today he noticed that Kurt wouldn't even look in his direction.

So instead of really paying attention to his singing, he was sure he missed a few words already, he was trying to figure out why Kurt was avoiding him. He assumed it had something to do with Monday afternoon. Perhaps Kurt thought he was mad at him because his mom had found out about the baby. If that was the case, the teen's assumption was way off. Finn actually found it was a relief that his mom knew so that he didn't need to face the situation alone. He knew she wasn't happy about it, after all she had spent thirty minutes giving him a lecture about safe sex, but she was being supportive.

"Earth to Finn."

Mr. Schue's voice brought Finn out of his thoughts, and the Titan quarterback realized that the music had come to a stop. Glancing around, he found that most eyes were on him. Kurt was busy pretending to study his sheet music.

"Sorry," Finn said sheepishly, instinctively knowing that the reason they had stopped was because of him.

"Everything okay?" Mr. Schuester asked, genuine concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah. It's fine. I just got a lot on my mind today, is all," Finn replied, not about to go into his thoughts in front of the whole Glee Club. "I'll pay better attention," he promised.

"Okay, then. Why don't we just start the number from the top," Mr. Schue told the group, looking toward Brad at the piano to start the music.

Finn did his best to pay attention during the rest of the rehearsal. Once or twice he would find his mind wandering and he quickly gave himself a mental shake. When the end of rehearsal finally came, Finn snatched his backpack up from the floor, determined not to let Kurt disappear without talking to him. The action proved necessary as Finn noticed Kurt was already heading toward the door by the time he got to his feet.

"Hey, Kurt, wait up," Finn called, half wondering if the other teen would go right on ignoring him. To his surprise though Kurt stepped to the side and stood next to the choir room door.

As he approached him, Finn noticed a slightly fearful look on Kurt's face leading him to believe that his theory about Kurt thinking he was mad at him was correct.

"Look, Finn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rat you out to your mother," Kurt said quickly when Finn approached him.

"I know that, dude. I'm not upset about that," Finn replied.

"You're not?" Kurt asked, looking up at the taller teen with a quizzical look.

"No. It was an accident and besides it turned out for the best. My mom's not happy about the situation but she has been supportive. It's a relief really."

"Good," Kurt said, visibly relaxing at the news.

"So, I was thinking, we still have to finish our assignment. I'm free now if you've got the time," Finn suggested.

Kurt nodded. "I know Mercedes said she and Puck were heading to the auditorium to do the assignment, so why don't we head to my house. I can use the piano for the music as I'm not sure I've got a copy of the song."

"Okay," Finn said, relieved that they were heading somewhere off of school grounds. As late as it was, most of the other students, including his teammates, should've already left but he really didn't want to take any chances.

The two left the choir room, and started walking through the almost empty halls of McKinley High with Kurt leading the way.

"So, have you picked a song to sing?" Finn asked, as Kurt pushed open the door leading out to the courtyard. Cutting through the courtyard was a more direct route to the main entrance of the school.

Admittedly, Finn was a bit afraid of the answer to that question. He might be naive but he was sure Kurt had a crush on him. After all, he'd had girls flirt with him before and Kurt acted just like them at times, staring at him in class with a dreamy look. It was kind of creepy really. He just hoped no one else noticed it.

"Well, I thought of and disregarded several selections," Kurt replied, glancing over his shoulder briefly at the taller teen following him. He wasn't about to tell Finn that the reason he had disregarded the songs wasn't that he didn't like them but that he thought they would make Finn uncomfortable. Well, no, that wasn't quite true. He knew they would make Finn uncomfortable. Kurt had no doubt that if he started singing "I Honestly Love You" that Finn would sprint for the nearest exit. Still, he did want a song that expressed how he felt about Finn on some level. "I finally decided on Mariah Carey's "Hero". I thought the song would adequately fulfill the assignment."

Finn was quiet for a moment as he let the song choice sink in. "You really think of me as a hero?" Finn asked.

It was a question that never got an answer as Finn ran into the back of Kurt who had suddenly stopped.

"Dude, why did you stop like that?" Finn asked, after he was sure neither one of them were going to fall.

Kurt didn't reply. Looking down at him, Finn realized the counter tenor had gone completely white. In response to the question, Kurt pointed at the sight that had caused him to stop walking.

Finn let his gaze travel in the direction Kurt was pointing and immediately felt his stomach turn over. He wasn't usually a queasy person but then this wasn't a sight he had ever seen before or ever wanted to again.

There on the ground, at the bottom of the steps was the lifeless body of Rachel Berry. The single hole in the middle of her forehead told Finn that there was no need for the paramedics. They did however need to tell someone.

Getting over his shock, and wanting to get away from the sight, Finn grabbed Kurt's arm. "Come on. Let's go see if Mr. Schue is still in the choir room," he said, pulling Kurt in the direction of the door they had just come through.

Kurt let himself be dragged along, his eyes focused on the still body of Rachel Berry until it was out of his line of vision. Even then Kurt felt like it was an image that would never go away.

* * *

_In the solitude of the cheap hotel room she was staying in, she took the time to reassess her plans. The brown haired teenager hadn't been in her original plan. She had come to Lima looking for her old teammate Carole Leery. _

_Shooting Jordan Todd had felt right somehow. She couldn't help but feel she had finally gotten some justice in her life after everything she had gone through. That first taste of it though had left her wanting more. Suddenly, she wanted to seek revenge on those other girls who had made her growing up years so difficult._

_Using a computer in an all night Internet Café an hour outside of Quantico she had done some research and started making plans. Alexis Scott, the girl who had stolen her spot on the team, had found her way to Philadelphia. The girl now had a successful career as a journalist for the city. As for Elizabeth Harper, the precious valedictorian, she had returned to their hometown after getting her law degree. It hadn't taken her long to become a judge for the small court that served Glenshaw and the surrounding area. It seemed only fitting that the girl who determined what was just for others got a taste of justice herself._

_The hardest one to trace had been Carole Leery. Her former soccer captain had graduated two years ahead of her. She recalled from an article in their school paper, written by Alexis no less, that Carole had gone to the University of Cincinnati following graduation. Without the assistant of her favorite hacker, she had found tracing her movements after that difficult. She had found some mentions of Carole Leery in some school related articles for her freshman year. After that, it was as if Carole Leery no longer attended the University of Cincinnati._

_That didn't sit well with her. There was no way an over-achieving, teacher's pet would simply drop out, or flunk out of college especially with the awards and achievements of her freshman year. Then it dawned on her that perhaps her name had changed. Not all goal-oriented women chose their career over the idea of having a family. After all, she hadn't._

_It had taken her longer than hoped, but she had finally figured out that Carole Leery had married a fellow University of Cincinnati student, Christopher Hudson. After the birth of a son, Christopher had dropped out of college and joined the army. Carole had finished school and got a job at Lima General Hospital. As far as she could figure, the former soccer captain still lived in Lima, despite the death of her husband to a drug overdose in Cincinnati in 1994. However wishing she had the skills of her friend didn't get anywhere and she was unable to track down further information on her third target._

_Still, after taking care of the first two tasks, she had come to Lima. Simple math told her that the son would now be in highschool. She had no trouble making herself seem like she belonged at the school because if she could make the media believe what she wanted then talking her way into and through a high school was child's play. _

_The conversation with Rachel Berry had started out innocently enough. It wasn't hard for her to spot the self-assured, conceited, win at all cost attitude that had cost her so much in the past. A few well-told lies playing to the girl's ego and she had Rachel Berry giving her all the information that she needed, including how to find one Finn Hudson, which would lead her to her target._

_Killing a high school student hadn't been part of her plan, but the more time she had spent with Rachel Berry had convinced her that the brunette was just like the rest of them. She may not have done anything to her personally but how many dreams had this girl already shattered on her search for stardom. Didn't she owe it to other girls like herself, to save them from her own fate?_

_Finishing the conversation, she'd realized they were alone. Making a split second decision, she had pulled her gun and disposed of Rachel Berry just like she had Elizabeth Harper and Alexis Scott. Just as she would Carole Leery Hudson. It was how things had to be._

_Now though, the police would be on alert following the teens murder. The good thing was, she knew how they worked. The bad thing was, speed was of the essence now. If only she could get lucky and find Carole Hudson alone like she had her first three targets. She didn't want to take down any innocents in her search for justice but she couldn't leave any witnesses either._


End file.
